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Claremont police dispatcher accused of 20 years of abuse

KEENE — The incest and aggravated sexual assault charges against a Claremont police dispatcher are “just the tip of the iceberg,” Cheshire County attorney Chris McLaughlin said in court Friday.

James Boisclair, 53, of Claremont appeared via video conference in the 8th Circuit Court in Keene Friday morning for a bail hearing.

He was arrested Wednesday night by state police on charges of aggravated felonious sexual assault and incest. He was held on $100,000 cash or surety bail.

“The two charges are really just the tip of the iceberg,” McLaughlin said in court Friday.

Investigators are alleging Boisclair sexually assaulted a child over a 20-year span. Throughout the years of abuse he threatened to kill the victim if she told anyone about the abuse, McLaughlin said.

The last assault occurred in 2012 when she returned home from college, he said.

When there was a chance she had become pregnant following that last assault, Boisclair allegedly “tripped her going down the stairs” so she would fall and miscarry, McLaughlin said, and she subsequently miscarried.

McLaughlin asked that bail remain at $100,000 due to the severity of the charges.

Defense attorney Jennifer Cohen requested bail be lowered to $10,000 or under. Arrangements could be made for him to stay in a hotel or with his brother in Vermont, she said.

Judge Edward Burke held the bail at $100,000 cash or surety. Burke also set conditions of release that would require Boisclair to sign a waiver of extradition if he is released to stay with his brother. He is also barred from contacting the victim and two family members.

Boisclair’s arrest affidavit has been sealed.

He is being held at the Cheshire County House of Corrections in Keene.

Boisclair has been a dispatcher for the Claremont Police Department for more than 15 years, said Claremont Police Chief Alex Scott Thursday.

Following his arrest, Scott placed Boisclair on administrative paid leave pending a review.

Boisclair is set to appear in court Wednesday for a probable cause hearing.